Man grabs officer's gun at Beaverton City Hall, and fires

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BEAVERTON, Ore. - An 18-year-old man wrestled a gun away from a police officer Friday evening and managed to fire off a shot.

According to Beaverton police, Jared Steven Leone walked into Beaverton City Hall just before 6 p.m. and said he was overdosing and needed help. He was talking to a person at the police department's records desk, which is in the same building.

Three officers came out to help and that's when police say Leone swung a punch at one of the officers and a struggle ensued. Police say Leone displayed a high amount of strength during the struggle and it was difficult for the officers to restrain him.

At some point, Leone grabbed a gun from one of the officers and fired a single shot. No one was hit. The bullet went into a wall with an empty room on the other side.

Police initially said one officer struggled with the suspect in the lobby, but Detective Sergeant Jim Shumway on Saturday said surveillance video of the incident showed three officers attempted to detain Leone.

The bullet hole in a wall at Beaverton City Hall. Photo courtesy of the Beaverton Police Department.

The officers helped get Leone under control and took him into custody. A police spokesman told us Leone was acting like he was on drugs - talking gibberish and possibly hallucinating.

"This could have been a tragedy," said Shumway. "Nobody was hit, but certainly the subject could have been hit, certainly the officer, or any other officers. And while City Hall was closed, it wasn't vacant. There were other people in the building that could have been hit. This could have been terrible."

The officer involved in the struggle suffered a shoulder injury and was taken to the hospital. Leone was taken there as well to be treated for a potential drug overdose.

Shumway said the officer will be off work for a while and "will probably have to have surgery on the shoulder."

Leone was released from the hospital and taken to the Washington County Jail. He faces charges including assaulting a public safety officer, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest.

Police say Leone is from the Seattle area, but he graduated from Vernonia High School.